Can Phil Mickelson remain an elite player?

In case you missed it, here’s today’s golf column in the Sporting Green on Phil Mickelson — who will return to Northern California in two weeks seeking his fifth win at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am:

Tiger Woods makes his PGA Tour season debut this week at Torrey Pines in San Diego, amid widespread curiosity about the state of his game and his stalled quest to chase down Jack Nicklaus.

Another similarly compelling plotline to watch: Can Phil Mickelson, in the year he turns 43, remain relevant in golf’s high-rent (or high-tax) district?

Not quite a year ago, Mickelson offered one of the signature rounds of his career. All the elements fell into place: final round, Pebble Beach, playing alongside Woods. Mickelson seized the moment, shooting 64 to whip Woods – who wobbled home in 75 – win his fourth AT&T title and stir chatter about an imminent rejuvenation.

Or maybe not.

Mickelson is winless since then, has dropped from No. 11 to No. 22 in the world ranking and opened this year by tying for 37th in the tournament near Palm Springs and complaining about his high tax rates. (He later apologized for publicly airing his grievance.) Oddly enough, this didn’t resonate among the common folk.

Golf-wise, there are valid reasons for Mickelson to fret. Tour pros in their 40s, aside from Vijay Singh, seldom pocket many victories and win majors even less often. More dynamic, ready-to-win young players join the tour every year, as Russell Henley illustrated with his command performance two weeks ago in Honolulu.

Mickelson struggled throughout the spring and summer of 2012, after contending again at Augusta National (where he tied for third in the Masters). He tied for 65th in the U.S. Open at the Olympic Club, missed the cut in the British Open and tied for 36th in the PGA Championship.

He’s already a Hall of Famer, but those finishes suggest he’s also on the downside of his career.

“There were a few technical things I’d rather not dwell on,” Mickelson said on a conference call last week. “Going through that three-to-four month stretch of poor play forced me to analyze what I was doing well and what I wasn’t doing well.”

His conclusion: His iron play was strong, but he needed to work on his driving and putting. So Mickelson focused on those areas in the offseason, emerging to declare he had made “breakthroughs.”

Yes, even using that funky claw grip – which still looks wildly awkward, no matter how much Mickelson raves about it.

“I’m lining up more naturally and not thinking as much,” he said of his putting. “I’ve kind of just gotten out of my own way.”

Mickelson, in fairness, showed signs of progress late last season. He tied for fourth in the playoff tournament outside Boston and tied for second the next week outside Indianapolis. He teamed with Keegan Bradley to win three points at the Ryder Cup, though Mickelson lost his singles match to Justin Rose.

We will learn much about The State of Lefty in the next few months, including his return to Northern California for this year’s AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am (Feb. 7-10). Mickelson has won at least once by mid-April in each of the past nine years.

Woods, incidentally, stood No. 18 in the world ranking after falling to Mickelson at Pebble in February 2012. He has since won three times and climbed to No. 2 in the ranking, though he missed the cut last week at the European Tour event in Abu Dhabi.

Mighty Bears: The Cal men’s team begins its season Monday at the Arizona Intercollegiate in Tucson. This is notable mostly because the Golden Bears are ranked No. 1 in the country in all the major polls, after their crazy-good fall season.

Cal played in five tournaments in September and October, from Minnesota and Georgia to Oregon, California and Florida. The Bears won four and tied for first in the other – yes, they went unbeaten.

Longtime coach Steve Desimone fields a deep lineup anchored by Max Homa, the lone senior among the customary starters. That’s not to say he’s the star – in an inherently individual game, these Bears embrace the team concept.

“Great guys, smart guys, love the game,” Desimone said of his players. “They’re all about the team. There are no egos here, and there haven’t been right from the start.”

Briefly: Entries have closed for the men’s championship flight, but the San Francisco City Championship is accepting entries in other flights until Jan. 31 (www.sfgolfchampionship.com). … James Hahn, who grew up in Alameda, shot a final-round 62 to tie for fourth Sunday in his third career PGA Tour start. Hahn earned more for that finish ($246,400) than he did for his win last year on the Web.com Tour ($99,000).